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Nobody owns the Bitcoin network much like no one owns the technology behind email or the Internet. Bitcoin transactions are verified by Bitcoin miners which has an entire industry and Bitcoin cloud mining options. While developers are improving the software they cannot force a change in the Bitcoin protocol because all users are free to choose what software and version they use.
Welcome to the Investopedia Bitcoin Center, where you can find the current price of Bitcoin as well as real-time updated news on the world’s most important cryptocurrency. For good or for ill, Bitcoin is being explored by every major world bank and may very well be the backbone of our global financial system in the near future. Use charts, watch videos, learn new Bitcoin related terms, and get all of your questions answered about Bitcoin here at Investopedia.
All mining ASICs, Bitmain’s included, are performing essentially the same computation—the SHA-256 hashing algorithm—even if they go about it a bit differently. The standard algorithm takes 64 steps to complete, but in Bitcoin it is run twice for each block header, meaning a full round requires 128 steps that are heavy on integer addition. “That’s what dominates the whole design,” says Timo Hanke, the chief cryptographer at String Labs, a cryptography-focused incubator in Palo Alto, Calif. “So, if somebody was to optimize it, they have to optimize the adders. That’s where most of the work is.”
Recently, there has been a lot of excitement around Bitcoin and other altcoins. It is understandable that some newcomers have the impression that Bitcoin is some sort of collectible item, yet the fact remains that Bitcoin is simply a currency. Stripped of all the hype and value predictions, Bitcoin is primarily a means of exchange. OpenDime is a relatively new cold storage platform that truly embraces the values of decentralization and relative anonymity. In an era where highly, accessible centralized hot exchanges are all the rage, OpenDime hearkens back to a purer philosophy and with it brings its own new take on hardware wallets to the marketplace.
Bitcoin is pseudonymous, meaning that funds are not tied to real-world entities but rather bitcoin addresses. Owners of bitcoin addresses are not explicitly identified, but all transactions on the blockchain are public. In addition, transactions can be linked to individuals and companies through "idioms of use" (e.g., transactions that spend coins from multiple inputs indicate that the inputs may have a common owner) and corroborating public transaction data with known information on owners of certain addresses. Additionally, bitcoin exchanges, where bitcoins are traded for traditional currencies, may be required by law to collect personal information.
Bitcoin mining is the process of updating the ledger of Bitcoin transactions known as the blockchain. Mining is done by running extremely powerful computers (known as ASICs) that race against other miners in an attempt to guess a specific number. The first miner to guess the number gets to update the ledger of transactions and also receives a reward of newly minted Bitcoins (currently the reward is 12.5 Bitcoins).
Controlling and monitoring your mining rig requires dedicated software. Depending on what mining rig you have, you’ll need to find the right software. Many mining pools have their own software, but some don’t. In case you’re not sure which mining software you need, you can find a list of Bitcoin mining software here. Also, if you want to compare different mining software, you can do it here.
The EU and May are lying. We could very easily have Canada +++ without Northern Ireland being in any Customs Union handcuffs. The trade between NI and RoI is very small (2016: NI to RoI £4bn, RoI to NI £1.5bn). This could easily be managed with e.g. pre-border checks, trusted trader / exporter licences, existing Customs / police intelligence against smuggling and crime. It's all just a big excuse to stop us being free to trade with the world, compete with the EU on taxing and pricing etc, and make the best of Leaving. They had better come back with UK +++ very soon, or it's No deal / WTO. Lying traitor May must GO.
Bitcoin mining is so called because it resembles the mining of other commodities: it requires exertion and it slowly makes new units available to anybody who wishes to take part. An important difference is that the supply does not depend on the amount of mining. In general changing total miner hashpower does not change how many bitcoins are created over the long term.
From a widespread adoption standpoint: for the typical consumer, Bitcoin is technically challenging and cumbersome to use for the inexperienced. They also forfeit the consumer protections afforded by traditional credit and debt cards. Merchants already have incentive to accept it in the form of reduced fees for accepting payments over typical payment processors.
There are two basic ways to mine: On your own or as part of a Bitcoin mining pool or with Bitcoin cloud mining contracts and be sure to avoid Bitcoin cloud mining scams. Almost all miners choose to mine in a pool because it smooths out the luck inherent in the Bitcoin mining process. Before you join a pool, make sure you have a bitcoin wallet so you have a place to store your bitcoins. Next you will need to join a mining pool and set your miner(s) to connect to that pool. With pool mining, the profit from each block any pool member generates is divided up among the members of the pool according to the amount of hashes they contributed.
Bitcoin can even be purchased as a long-term investment through a Bitcoin IRA. A Bitcoin IRA can provide the same profit potential and investment opportunity as a regular Bitcoin purchase, but it can do so with the added benefits of an IRA account. Some of the primary benefits of purchasing Bitcoin in an IRA include tax-deferred growth and a possible tax deduction. For more information on Bitcoin IRA accounts, visit cyrptoira.com.
For all the peril, others here see the bitcoin boom as a kind of necessary opportunity. They argue that the era of cheap local power was coming to an end even before bitcoin arrived. One big reason: The region’s hydropower is no longer as prized by outside markets. In California, which has historically paid handsomely for the basin’s “green” hydropower, demand has fallen especially dramatically thanks to rapid growth in the Golden State’s wind and solar sectors. Simply put, the basin may soon struggle to find another large customer so eager to take those surplus megawatts—particularly one, like blockchain mining, that might bring other economic benefits. Early data from Douglas County, for example, suggest that the sector’s economic value, especially the sales tax from nonstop server upgrades, may offset any loss in surplus power sales, according to Jim Huffman, a Douglas County port commissioner.
The trick, though, was finding a location where you could put all that cheap power to work. You needed an existing building, because in those days, when bitcoin was trading for just a few dollars, no one could afford to build something new. You needed space for a few hundred high-speed computer servers, and also for the heavy-duty cooling system to keep them from melting down as they churned out the trillions of calculations necessary to mine bitcoin. Above all, you needed a location that could handle a lot of electricity—a quarter of a megawatt, maybe, or even a half a megawatt, enough to light up a couple hundred homes.
A few years ago, CPU and GPU mining became completely obsolete when FPGAs came around. An FPGA is a Field Programmable Gate Array, which can produce computational power similar to most GPUs, while being far more energy‐efficient than graphics cards. Due to its mining efficiency, and ability to consume relatively lesser energy, many miners shifted to the use of FPGAs.
Various potential attacks on the bitcoin network and its use as a payment system, real or theoretical, have been considered. The bitcoin protocol includes several features that protect it against some of those attacks, such as unauthorized spending, double spending, forging bitcoins, and tampering with the blockchain. Other attacks, such as theft of private keys, require due care by users.
No. 3: Electrum (software wallet). Electrum is a popular, free storage option in the bitcoin community, and is one of the most, if not the most, well-respected desktop storage apps out there. It's been around since 2011 and is also available for mobile, though Apple (ticker: AAPL) iPhone users are out of luck – to date it's only supported by Android.
No one was more surprised than the miners themselves. By the end of 2017, even with the rapidly rising difficulty, the per-bitcoin cost for basin miners was around $2,000, producing profit margins similar to those of the early years, only on a vastly larger scale. Marc Bevand, a French-born computer scientist who briefly mined in the basin and is now a tech investor, estimates that, by December, a hypothetical investor who had built a 5-megawatt mine in the basin just four months earlier would’ve recovered the $7 million investment and would now be clearing $140,000 in profit every 24 hours. “Nowadays,” he told me back in December, miners “are literally swimming in cash.”
Bitcoin's most important characteristic is that it is decentralized. No single institution controls the bitcoin network. It is maintained by a group of volunteer coders, and run by an open network of dedicated computers spread around the world. This attracts individuals and groups that are uncomfortable with the control that banks or government institutions have over their money.
What would it take for a competitor to nudge into the fray? For starters, it has to be willing to put a lot of money on the line. Several million dollars can go into chip design before a single prototype is produced. “It takes the willingness to pull the trigger and pay the money,” says Hanke. But he’s confident it will happen. “People will see it’s profitable, and they will jump in.”
Bloomberg reported that the largest 17 crypto merchant-processing services handled $69 million in June 2018, down from $411 million in September 2017. Bitcoin is "not actually usable" for retail transactions because of high costs and the inability to process chargebacks, according to Nicholas Weaver, a researcher quoted by Bloomberg. High price volatility and transaction fees make paying for small retail purchases with bitcoin impractical, according to economist Kim Grauer. However, bitcoin continues to be used for large-item purchases on sites such as Overstock.com, and for cross-border payments to freelancers and other vendors.
For one, proof of work prevents miners from creating bitcoins out of thin air: they must burn real energy to earn them. And two, proof of work ossifies Bitcoin’s history. If an attacker were to try and change a transaction that happened in the past, that attacker would have to redo all of the work that has been done since to catch up and establish the longest chain. This is practically impossible and is why miners are said to “secure” the Bitcoin network.
That’s why mining pools came into existence. The idea is simple: miners group together to form a “pool” (i.e., combine their mining power to compete more effectively). Once the pool manages to win the competition, the reward is spread out between the pool members depending on how much mining power each of them contributed. This way, even small miners can join the mining game and have a chance of earning Bitcoin (though they get only a part of the reward).
Carlson has become the face of the Mid-Columbia Basin crypto boom. Articulate, infectiously optimistic, with graying hair and a trim beard, the Microsoft software developer-turned-serial entrepreneur has built a series of mines, made (and lost) several bitcoin fortunes and endured countless setbacks to become one of the region’s largest players. Other local miners credit Carlson for launching the basin’s boom, back in 2012, when he showed up in a battered Honda in the middle of a snowstorm and set up his servers in an old furniture store. Carlson wouldn’t go that far, but the 47-year-old was one of the first people to understand, back when bitcoin was still mainly something video gamers mined in their basements, that you might make serious money mining bitcoin at scale—but only if you could find a place with cheap electricity.
According to the Internet Watch Foundation, a UK-based charity, bitcoin is used to purchase child pornography, and almost 200 such websites accept it as payment. Bitcoin isn't the sole way to purchase child pornography online, as Troels Oertling, head of the cybercrime unit at Europol, states, "Ukash and paysafecard... have [also] been used to pay for such material." However, the Internet Watch Foundation lists around 30 sites that exclusively accept bitcoins. Some of these sites have shut down, such as a deep web crowdfunding website that aimed to fund the creation of new child porn.[better source needed] Furthermore, hyperlinks to child porn websites have been added to the blockchain as arbitrary data can be included when a transaction is made.
According to The New York Times, libertarians and anarchists were attracted to the idea. Early bitcoin supporter Roger Ver said: "At first, almost everyone who got involved did so for philosophical reasons. We saw bitcoin as a great idea, as a way to separate money from the state." The Economist describes bitcoin as "a techno-anarchist project to create an online version of cash, a way for people to transact without the possibility of interference from malicious governments or banks".
According to the European Central Bank, the decentralization of money offered by bitcoin has its theoretical roots in the Austrian school of economics, especially with Friedrich von Hayek in his book Denationalisation of Money: The Argument Refined, in which he advocates a complete free market in the production, distribution and management of money to end the monopoly of central banks.:22
1. Once your mining computer comes up with the right guess, your mining program determines which of the current pending transactions will be grouped together into the next block of transactions. Compiling this block represents your moment of glory, as you’ve now become a temporary banker of Bitcoin who gets to update the Bitcoin transaction ledger known as the blockchain.
The first post was made on 31 August and suggested that the funds may be connected to the now-defunct dark web market Silk Road which handled the trade of billions of dollars worth of contraband such as recreational and prescription drugs, illegal weapons and pornography, malware, hacking services, guides to various types of criminal activity, and other black market goods and services.
In the process of mining, each Bitcoin miner is competing with all the other miners on the network to be the first one to correctly assemble the outstanding transactions into a block by solving those specialized math puzzles. In exchange for validating the transactions and solving these problems. Miners also hold the strength and security of the Bitcoin network. This is very important for security because in order to attack the network, an attacker would need to have over half of the total computational power of the network. This attack is referred to as the 51% attack. The more decentralized the miners mining Bitcoin, the more difficult and expensive it becomes to perform this attack.
“Cryptojacking scams have continued to evolve, and they don’t even need you to install anything,” Jason Adler, an assistant director for the Federal Trade Commission, wrote in a blog post in June. “Scammers can use malicious code embedded in a website or an ad to infect your device. Then they can help themselves to your device’s processor without you even knowing.”
When it comes to using cryptocurrencies, if security dominates your every thought, then the DigitalBitbox is the hardware wallet that you are looking for. It is exceptionally easy to engage with and it utilizes open source applications for Linus, Mac, and Windows. The only real downside for prospective users is that for all intents it is currently restricted to Bitcoin. Otherwise, it novel new platform that offers solid functionality and comes at a very competitive price.
Bitcoin mining is the process by which transactions are verified and added to the public ledger, known as the block chain, and also the means through which new bitcoin are released. Anyone with access to the internet and suitable hardware can participate in mining. The mining process involves compiling recent transactions into blocks and trying to solve a computationally difficult puzzle. The participant who first solves the puzzle gets to place the next block on the block chain and claim the rewards. The rewards, which incentivize mining, are both the transaction fees associated with the transactions compiled in the block as well as newly released bitcoin. (Related: How Does Bitcoin Mining Work?)
Based in Austin, TX, Steven is the Executive Editor at CoinCentral. He’s interviewed industry heavyweights such as Wanchain President Dustin Byington, TechCrunch Editor-in-Chief Josh Constine, IOST CEO Jimmy Zhong, Celsius Network CEO Alex Mashinsky, and ICON co-founder Min Kim among others. Outside of his role at CoinCentral, Steven is a co-founder and CEO of Coin Clear, a mobile app that automates cryptocurrency investments. You can follow him on Twitter @TheRealBucci to read his “clever insights on the crypto industry.” His words, not ours.
Bitcoin prices were negatively affected by several hacks or thefts from cryptocurrency exchanges, including thefts from Coincheck in January 2018, Coinrail and Bithumb in June, and Bancor in July. For the first six months of 2018, $761 million worth of cryptocurrencies was reported stolen from exchanges. Bitcoin's price was affected even though other cryptocurrencies were stolen at Coinrail and Bancor, as investors worried about the security of cryptocurrency exchanges.


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Lakewood, CO, August 23, 2014 --(PR.com
)-- Talking Books Plus, a Colorado based bookstore specializing in audio books, will start providing all active military personal and military veterans a 10% discount at the store.
Talking Books Plus has been renting and selling audio books from their storefront in Lakewood, Colorado since 1999. The Military Discount Plan is the first time that a special discount has been given by Talking books Plus.
The discount plan will be available to all active duty members of the armed forces as well as all military veterans. To obtain the discount, proof of military service must be shown at the time of purchase or rental.
Talking Books Plus started helping the active duty troops in 2012 by collecting and sending books to soldiers overseas. After more than 2,000 books were sent, Don Huck, co-owner of Talking Books Plus, wanted to find another way to help the service men and women who are living in and around Denver, Colorado.
The discount can be applied to any purchases of new in-stock audio books as well as already discounted used audio books. It can also be applied to any Unlimited Rental Membership Plan. Membership plans allow listeners to rent audio books from the store based on a set length of time and on how many books the person wants to have out. With a membership plan, there is never a late fee or due date.

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Both Apple and Microsoft use (or abuse) the broken patent system to stifle competition. The two companies backed (and Microsoft is infamous for creating proxy organizations to weaken competitors – FairSearch of Europe is one such example) a patent troll called Rockstar to target Android.
Microsoft and Apple (along with other companies) created Rockstar to abuse the patents that it acquired via Nortel acquisition – these companies are not ‘protecting’ their innovation; they are buying patents to attack others – most notably Google which is known for not using patents as weapons.
The problem (and advantage that Microsoft and Apple were aware of) with such patent trolls is that since they don’t sell any products they can’t be counter-sued or threatened with injunctions – they more or less have the license to rob.
Now Google, the common enemy of these two ancient players, is fighting back. Rockstar recently opened an attack against those companies who are Google’s partner and use Android OS.
GigaOM reports, “In a complaint filed Monday in San Jose, Google claims that Rockstar’s patent campaign is taking aim at hundreds of California tech companies and that the litigation has “placed a cloud on Google’s Android platform,” threatening Nexus devices in particular.”
Most of these ‘acquired’ and not invented patents don’t even deal with core Android features, they deal with generic features such “mobile hotspot”, “VPN” or “notification”.
Rockstar filed the lawsuits in the heaven of patent trolls – Texas, but Google counter sued them in California, stating that the case be moved there.
The reports are floating that the Microsoft/Apple created patent troll is considering selling some of it’s patents – as probably they don’t hold any ‘attack’ value.
Microsoft’s own bogus patents
Even Microsoft’s own patents claims are bogus and most of the patent deals it brags about are probably related to FAT32 and Microsoft, in my opinion, is not making more than few dimes per Android device let alone dollars. Microsoft wants such lies, that it mints billions of dollars from Android, to spread which only helps this company in keeping the lie alive.


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McLaren has announced a multi-year partnership with Monster Energy, one of the biggest-selling energy drink brands in the world.
Monster has long been associated with the Mercedes Formula 1 team ever since the German manufacturer returned to the grid in 2010.
As a result of the partnership between McLaren and Monster, the logos of the energy drink company will be seen on the race helmets, race suits, caps and drinks bottles of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
It is not the only team partnership that McLaren has in place with a drinks company as it has had a relationship in place with Coca-Cola for several years.
Although Monster Energy has been associated with F1 for some time, its presence is not as profound as Red Bull's, one of its major competitors in the energy drink market.
Monster Energy has joined forces with McLaren off the back of a strong recovery season that saw it progress from back-of-the-grid competition to consistently challenging for podiums.
"We are delighted to join forces with the iconic Monster Energy brand from next season onwards,” said McLaren CEO Zak Brown.
“Monster focuses on celebrating athletes through bold ideas and creating awesome content, so we can’t wait to explore ideas and find new ways to engage and entertain our fans.”


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E-mobility solutions provider Quantron has announced a partnership with fuel cell technology company Ballard to develop hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks. The strategic partnership will focus initially on the integration of Ballard’s FCmove heavy-duty fuel cell power modules into Quantron’s own electric drivetrains and vehicles.
At present, fuel cell electric versions of a 7.5-ton delivery truck, a 44-ton heavy duty truck and a waste collection truck are all in development, with initial deployment planned for the second part of 2022.
Through an e-mobility support program, the German government has recently announced it will cover up to 80% of the conversion costs from internal combustion engines to alternative forms of propulsion.
“This is another important milestone for Quantron’s global growth,” commented Andreas Haller, founder and chairman, Quantron. “The cooperation with Ballard enables us to bring customized hydrogen commercial vehicles with fuel cell electric drives to the market. Today we embark on a journey of joint development and production of fuel cell electric commercial vehicles.”
Quantron has also revealed that it is preparing to launch two versions of a 12m low-floor city bus. A BEV option will be available for order by the end of this year and a FCEV from spring 2022.
The battery-electric version of the city bus is capable of outputting 250kW and has a range of up to 280km, while charging power is up to 80kW with a battery capacity of up to 422kWh. Via a standard European CCS 2 plug, the transportation vehicle can be fully charged within 3-6 hours. The battery and its charging system have been adapted to be compatible with an array of charging options. The bus will have capacity for up to 95 passengers.
Quantron states that the bus will cost roughly the same as more polluting diesel bus alternatives, and will be offered in close cooperation with EV Dynamics, a European-Asian group of companies that specializes in electric and hydrogen-based mobility solutions.


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Domestic demand is the main driver of the expansion, but export orders also continued to climb
The closely-watched IHS Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) showed a reading of 56.3 for October, up from 56.0 in September and coming in above economist expectations of 55.9.
A reading above 50 indicates growth.
It marked the 15th consecutive month of sector expansion, marking a strong start to the final quarter of 2017 as output and new order growth remained “robust”.
The news pushed the pound to its highest level against the US dollar since early October yesterday, up 0.2 per cent at 1.331.
Sterling also rose 0.3 per cent versus the euro to 1.143, marking its highest level against the eurozone currency since early June.
Domestic demand was the main driver of new contracts, but export orders also continued to climb thanks in part to the sterling exchange rate, which has made UK goods cheaper for foreign clients.
Companies surveyed said they experienced new work from clients in the US and Europe as well as South America and Australia.
Duncan Brock, director of customer relationships at the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, said: “While trade from export markets slowed slightly, orders from overseas continued to rise for the 18th month supported by a robust global economy.
Britain’s manufacturing industry rose in October above economist expectations
“The pound’s fluctuating performance may have had some bearing on the softening in export orders but there were continuing good levels of demand from Europe and the US, so no cause for concern.”
However, the sterling exchange rate piled further price pressure on manufacturing, with input costs rising at their fastest pace in seven months and resulting in the steepest rate of selling price inflation since April.
The survey also noted that the pace of job growth was at its highest level in 40 months, as more than 50 per cent of manufacturers forecast that output growth would be higher in a year’s time.


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If you can live with the Innergie PocketCell's price, you're getting one of the better -- and more versatile -- portable chargers.
The MyCharge Peak 6000 is sort of the Swiss Army Knife of portable battery chargers, with built-in connectors for iOS products, Android devices, and a host of other products.
The bank says 30,000 employees will begin using the social network's new work collaboration tool.
Crime agencies from across Europe partner with the FBI to investigate and shut down the spread of Dridex banking malware.
The latest "challenger bank" looking to shake up retail banking could mark a big step forward for the fast-growing mobile payment sector.
A chip implanted in new cards is designed to stop cybercrime. Starting Thursday, stores that haven't upgraded their card-reading terminals will be on the hook for fraudulent charges.
The company acknowledges it recently sold PCs loaded with a form of identification that could make them vulnerable to cyberattack.
Hours of live "Force Awakens" reveals introduce more toys and other "Star Wars" products than you can shake a lightsaber at. Here, a look at some of the newest stuff this side of the galaxy.
With a connected bulb and a smart switch that doubles as a remote, the $40 Philips Hue Wireless Dimming Kit wants to ease you into smarter lighting.
At $1,600, this Frigidaire might tempt you with its counter-depth design.


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The UK's biggest supermarkets throw away the equivalent of 190 million meals a year, according to a new study.
The waste has been condemned as a "scandal" after data released by The Independent suggested that less than 10% of unsold food approaching its use-by or best-before date was passed onto those in need.
Just 24,242 tons was passed on to the needy out of 282,338 tons of unsold food approaching its use-by or best-before date, according to the investigation.
The government-backed charity Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap) says that an additional 80,000 tons of the leftover food would have been suitable to donate. Every 1,000 tons amounts to 2.4 million meals.
The Labour Party has condemned the waste as a "scandal".
Daniel Zeichner, shadow minister for environment, food and rural affairs, told the paper: “The amount of food that goes to waste is a scandal when millions of children in this country are going hungry.
"The government has been too slow to recognise what is happening because it has the wrong priorities.
"Instead of simply wishing the issue away, ministers should look at how other countries report surpluses and waste, because what we’re doing clearly isn’t working.”
A further 258,096 tons of food were either sent for animal feed or pulped in crushers at the back of superstores and sent to anaerobic digestion plants to produce biogas or fertiliser.
It comes as The Mirror revealed soup kitchens in city centres are facing an unprecedented demand for food hand-outs.
Thousands of hungry families have turned to food banks throughout the pandemic.
In summer, Manchester United striker, Marcus Rashford, successfully lobbied the Government into a U-turn over its free school meals policy in England during the first coronavirus lockdown, ensuring children in need would receive food over the summer.
The Trussell Trust handed out more than 11 million meals to hungry Britons in the first six months of the Covid-19 crisis.
The country's biggest foodbank network gave away a record-breaking 1,239,399 emergency parcels between April and September.
With each aid package containing enough food for three meals a day for three days, that equates to 11,154,591 meals supplied as the pandemic raged.
Heartbreakingly, 4,237,686 meals went to children.
Youngsters received 2,573 emergency parcels every day from the charity's 1,350 centres – totalling 470,854 parcels over the half-year.
Tesco - 13.7% donated
Food donated in 2019-2020: 10,686 tons
Food surplus in 2019-2020: 77,807
They say: “We first published our food waste data in 2013 and believe that only by understanding the hotspots can we reduce waste. Our priority is to reduce this surplus through optimising our forecasting, ordering and ‘reduce to clear’ processes. Our target is that no food safe for human consumption will be wasted and [if you deduct 16,497 tons sent to animal feed and 9,661 tons given to colleagues] we are now 77 per cent of the way there.”
Aldi - 13.3% donated
Food donated in 2019-2020: 3,360 tons
Food surplus in 2019-2020: 25,313 tons
They say: “The increase in our donations is largely as a result of our partnership with Neighbourly, which started in 2019 and has rapidly expanded across all stores. We donated 4 million meals to charities in 2019 and over 8 million meals in 2020. This year, we have launched a campaign, supported by Marcus Rashford, which will see us distribute 10 million meals to families affected by hunger, through our partnership with Neighbourly."
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Co-op - 11.4% donated
Food donated in 2019-2020: 2,530 tons
Food surplus in 2019-2020: 22,209 tons
They say: “We are committed to tackling food waste and in 2019 we donated almost 6 million meals to local causes and those in need from our UK stores and depots. Through our Food Share redistribution programme – which redistributes unsold fresh food nearing its ‘use by’ or ‘best before’ date – our stores in Greater London gave produce for 4.6 million meals to 100 charities and organisations fighting to alleviate food poverty. In addition, through our partnership with FareShare, we donated 1.3 million meals.”
Waitrose - 8.9% donated
Food donated in 2019-2020: 643 tons
Food surplus in 2019-2020: 7,210 tons
They say: “Our intention is that all edible food is redistributed and we are in the process of developing more efficient measurement functions to improve our ability to identify food surplus fit for human consumption. Since the start of our relationship with FareShare in 2017, we have donated 1,792 tons of surplus food, equivalent to 4.2 million meals.”
Marks and Spencer - 7.9% donated
Food donated in 2019-2020: 1,177 tons
Food surplus in 2019-2020: 14,991 tons
They say: “In response to Covid, we accelerated the rollout of new technology to redistribute more food in our 585 owned stores. The app sits on our [staff’s] handheld devices and means we can calculate the food we have available to donate and send a direct alert to our charity partners. Through our partnership with Neighbourly, our stores have supported 1,500 causes since 2015. Currently, the app is enabling us to donate 60 per cent of our edible surplus each week and our redistribution rates have doubled in most stores."
Morrisons - 5.4% donated
Food donated in 2019-2020: 792 tons
Food surplus in 2019-2020: 14,457 tons
They say: “Our target is to reduce operational food waste by 50 per cent by 2030 and from our starting point in 2016 we are on target to meet this goal. We also aimed to double the amount of food redistributed by 2019-20 and have achieved that goal.”
Asda - 5.4% donated
Food donated in 2019-2020: 1,723 tons
Food surplus in 2019-2020: 31,881 tons
They say: “We donated 1,723 tons of surplus food to charity and gave 420 tons of vegetables to customers free of charge at Christmas and Easter. We are working to remove food waste from across operations and during 2019 extended our food donation programme to over 450 stores. In the last three years, we have supported 2,000 charities and have donated 4.7 million meals.”
Lidl - 4.2% donated
Food donated in 2019-2020: 1,611 tons
Food surplus in 2019-2020: 38,177 tons
They say: “Addressing food waste is one of the most important topics our industry is facing and we are fully committed to it. The amount of food we redistributed for human consumption has almost tripled over the last three years since the launch of our national food redistribution programme – Feed It Back – in partnership with Neighbourly.”
Sainsbury's - 3.8% donated
Food donated in 2019-2020: 1,562 tons
Food surplus in 2019-2020: 40,759 tons
They say: “In 2019-20, 92 per cent of our stores had food donation partners and we now have over 1,100 such partnerships across the UK. This year, for a range of reasons, the amount of leftover operational waste in our business is down. This is a positive step for climate change but had a knock-on effect on the amount of surplus food we had to donate.”
Iceland - 1.7% donated
Food donated in 2019-2020: 158 tons
Food surplus in 2019-2020: 9,534 tons
They say: “Our focus on frozen helps to cut waste throughout our supply chain. We have achieved a 23 per cent reduction in food waste in the last two years. Following a trial, we are currently rolling out a policy allowing store colleagues to take unsold food home with them at the end of the day.”
* Data all self-reported by supermarkets, except Aldi, whose surplus was calculated using an estimate based on market share


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01:40 pm Pune-based motorcycle manufacturer, Bajaj Auto, is planning to add new flagship model in its Pulsar range of performance motorcycles. It had showcased two concept motorcycles at the 2014 Auto Expo which included the Pulsar RS400 and the ... The Freepress Journal, 4 days ago
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Exclusive - Bajaj Pulsar RS400 launch in Diwali - Zigwheels, 1 week ago
The Bajaj Pulsar CS400has been spotted during one of its trial runs near Pune, Maharashtra. While the concept unveiled at the 2014 Auto Expo was quite avantgarde, this prototype featured a mellowed-down design, which seems like a step taken to make ...MSN News US, 1 week ago Bajaj Pulsar CS400 spied again ahead of rumoured launch in June International Business Times India, 2 weeks ago Bajaj Pulsar CS400 could be launched by mid-2016 Zigwheels, 2 weeks ago Bajaj Pulsar CS400 spied testing for the first time, likely to be launched this year International Business Times India, 2 weeks ago
Total Shares 0 Bajaj Auto is planning to launch as slew of new motorcycles in order to expand its market share in India. The company aims to enter new segments of the market and launch the Husqvarna brand in India next year, Bajaj plans to ...MotorBeam.com, 1 month ago Bajaj Auto to launch 375cc Avenger soon Business Standard Motoring, 1 month ago Bajaj Auto is working on the bigger Avenger Gaadi.com, 1 month ago Rumour: Bajaj developing bigger engine for the Avenger Team-BHP.com, 1 month ago
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Drinks maker AG Barr has warned first-half profits will be lower than last year as a gloomy start to the summer and higher material costs have hit margins.
Barr attributes those costs to increases in ingredient costs, brand investment and “adverse changes to our sales mix at brand, pack and channel level”.
The IrnBru maker said it anticipates margins will improve in the second half, though any improvement is unlikely to offset the margin shortfalls of the first half.
Despite cost pressures and unseasonable weather over much of the first half, Barr expects to report a 4.5 per cent rise in first-half sales.
Cumbernauld-based Barr said in a statement: “In recent weeks the weather has been extremely poor, with record levels of rainfall and we expect this will have had a further negative impact on market performance when the data is available for the remainder of June and July.
“During these difficult trading months, AG Barr has continued to grow strongly ahead of the market and we anticipate sales revenue of [circa] £130 million, an increase of over 4.5 per cent on the prior year.”
Barr cites market data compiled by Nielson for the 26 weeks to June 23 which shows the market was flat for fizzy drinks and still drink volumes fell by three per cent, though there was an 11 per cent rise in sales of energy drinks.
In June, Barr extended its sale and distribution deal with US energy drink maker Rockstar Inc, agreeing a new 15-year franchise deal with Rockstar, which both parties first entered into in 2007.
Barr also announced in June its financing plans for a £41.5 million expansion project at its Milton Keynes plant - £15 million of which will be financed from new debt facilities.
Production at the site is expected to start in the third quarter of 2013.
Shares in AG Barr were down almost two per cent in early trading today.


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AMSTERDAM – Two more global brands have joined a pioneering initiative aimed at linking brand purchasing practices to garment factory wages. Joining Industrall Global Union’s ACT initiative are PVH, the first company to join from the US and the parent company of Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, and zLabels, a collection of German brands sold online as Zalando. They join other recent signatories Bestseller and Cotton On which signed up to ACT in May 2018.
IndustriALL has signed Memoranda of Understanding with PVH and zLabels, bringing the number of ACT member companies to 20.
ACT (Action, Collaboration, Transformation) is essentially a collective bargaining tool which sees global apparel brands and retailers and trade unions working to achieve living wages for workers through industry-wide collective bargaining linked to purchasing practices.
ACT members recently met with representatives of trade unions and employers in Cambodia to hear about progress towards negotiating an industry collective agreement. Myanmar and Cambodia are pilot countries for the ACT initiative.
A note from IndustriaLL suggested there “is strong commitment on both sides to reaching agreement and triggering the commitments made by ACT brands to ensure that their purchasing practices support the collective agreement.”
With the new members, ACT brands now collectively source from factories employing 50 per cent of Cambodia’s garment workers.
Speaking after the meetings, H.E. Dr. Ith Samheng, Minister of Labour and Vocational Training, supported the initiative, suggesting participation of buyers is important to ensure they continue to cooperate long term with suppliers in Cambodia.
The ACT delegation then moved to Myanmar where the Ministry of Labour hosted a meeting of garment industry employers and trade unions to discuss how to move the ACT process forward.
U Myo Aung, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population provided an overview of the government’s vision for industrial and social upgrading of the Myanmar garment industry before ACT trade union and brand representatives presented the potential contribution of ACT to industrial relations and sector development.
Participants from factories, unions and government discussed the opportunities that ACT can bring to Myanmar by creating stable and predictable industrial relations through collective bargaining, industrial upgrading and integrating into the global economy and meeting the skills needs.


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Nobody can really make money out of this market.
It makes sense for Chinese companies to tie up with global companies to form an alliance in environmentally-friendly technology, given that the Chinese auto market will continue to grow and the government is getting concerned about pollution issues.
There's not much overlap in the two trading companies, and Tomen has some business segments that Tsusho doesn't have, ... The new entity will continue to work with Toyota.
Mazda is gaining on new models that are selling really well, lower production costs from platforms shared with Ford, and the weaker yen.
Despite how it may look at first glance, it's not necessarily a hugely upbeat result.
Mercedes and BMW took advantage of the Lexus launch. They knew Toyota was launching the Lexus and prepared to fight.
Japan has become a saturated market. Nissan brought out a lot of new models over a year ago and so now their sales are weakening.


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Search results for : burger restaurants
Showing 21 to 30 of 32 results
Nassau, Bahamas – Burger King Nassau is helping customers make their New Year’s resolution a reality in 2013. The Home of the Whopper is giving its menu a unique makeover to fit customers’ healthy lifestyles by introducing a new line-up of fresh salads. Burger King Nassau restaurants are now offering consumers the option to enjoy freshly prepared salads made in-store, which provide better-for-you ...
Sur Club, the $1.2 million sushi restaurant at Elizabeth on Bay, has received more than 500 applications in anticipation of its opening next month.
While the development has suffered a setback with the closure of Blu, the property next door is now 95 percent complete.
NASSAU, 5 June, 2012……. Burger King Nassau has partnered with the Law Society of the University of the West Indies at COB in a community service effort that celebrates, in a festive environment, the birthday of each child at the Nazareth Centre.
In The Bahamas, as elsewhere in the world, Burger King actively supports charities that work to improve the lives of less fortunate children and w...
NASSAU, 8 May 2012….. Burger King, an active supporter of charities that contribute to the welfare of children in The Bahamas, has now joined in the fight against child abuse through contributions to the National Child Protection Council.
As April is Child Protection Month, the NCPC has once again set forth its efforts through a number of prevention and awareness initiatives that bring focus to...
A veteran lawyer's professional reputation is at stake over claims that he cost a client thousands of dollars in a land purchase.
Malcolm Adderley, the former PLP MP for Elizabeth, was the lawyer for Marva Thompson who purchased a lot off Bacardi Road for $60,000 from a Genevieve Sherman in February 2006.
It was not until Thompson constructed a triplex on the property that she learned it was owned...
Bahama Grill Cafe is gearing up for major expansion in just a matter of weeks after entering the industry less than three years ago.
The locally-owned business on West Bay Street is pouring "hundreds of thousands of dollars" into the restaurant to create an in-house dining experience with a bar and lounge. Meanwhile, the brand is seeking to open three more outlets as it makes the transition from a...
Nassau, Bahamas - On February 21st Bahamas Waste Ltd. officially
opened its $1,000,000 biodiesel facility, an investment that will allow
for the manufacturing of up to one million gallons of waste cooking oil
into biodiesel each year. Waste cooking oil is collected from
restaurants in Nassau such as McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, and Wendy's
is processed and converted on site and used to...
The story of Havard Cooper Sr., and his entrepreneurial accomplishments is one that should be known by students of the public school system in Grand Bahama, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said as he heralded the achievements of the iconic businessman upon receipt of his autobiography, My Story, His Glory.
Freeport, Grand Bahama - Christmas came early for 4 kids this week at Burger King Restaurants
in Freeport. The winners participated in the Burger King's RUSH IN
& WIN Kids promotion and won a mini Laptop Computer. It's as easy
as purchasing a Kid's Meal, answeriing the questions in the Junkanoo
Activity Book and dropping off the form to a BK restaurant. The first...


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EasyRead is an upcoming app that aims to “take language education to the next level.” Targeted at young adults and professionals looking to learn a new language, EasyRead takes content from real publications and simplifies them so language learners can read topics that interest them at their specific level. EasyRead is a great solution for folks who don't have time or money to attend expensive evening classes or aren't too keen on reading children's books. The Malaysia-based startup has developed an algorithm that helps its international crowdsourced team create simpler versions of various books and magazines.
EasyRead is currently “hatching” at The Nest, a co-working space in Kuala Lumpur operated by Mother Goose Venture Developers. The startup is accepting beta testers, and anyone can sign up to be one on its website. EasyRead is the brainchild of a group of young entrepreneurs from Malaysia, Denmark, and Germany who want to “disrupt the language education sector.”


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ALL YOUR MEME ARE BELONG TO US
You’ve always known it, but now there’s hard numbers: Pew’s Internet & American Life project today released the results of a study which found that Anna Kendrick notwithstanding, Reddit is especially popular among young men. Try to contain your shock!
Researchers conducted a poll and found that six percent of adults online are Redditors. However, 15 percent of dudes 18 to 29 said they’re users, while a mere five percent of women the same age did. Men are, overall, twice as likely to frequent the site.
If 90 percent of the links on your Reddit front page don’t already direct to the photo hosting site Imgur, then they soon will. The company announced today that it is releasing its very own meme generator to fill the gaping hole of no doubt riveting, thoughtful content left on Reddit when Quickmeme Read More
In a post published to the Kickstarter blog today, the New York-based crowdfunding platform wrote that it was “wrong” to allow a controversial dating book published by a Redditor to collect funded on Kickstarter. The book, which many have called a “rape manual,” included several passages that suggested men make unwanted advances on women, though its creator insists the quotes were taken out of context.
The book, to be published by Redditor Ken Hoinsky, raised over $16,000 on Kickstarter. Despite calling it “abhorrent,” Kickstarter initially declined to remove it, stating that “the material on Reddit did not warrant the irreversible action of canceling the project.”
Love in the Time of Algorithms
In a statement provided to Betabeat, the powers that be at Kickstarter announced that they will not be taking down the project for Redditor Ken Hoinsky’s dating advice book, which contains unsettling suggestions for how to treat women, including “grab her hand and put it right on your dick.” The book, called Above the Game: A Guide to Getting Awesome With Women, far surpassed its Kickstarter funding goal and promises to compile much of the dating advice the prolific Mr. Hoinsky has published to Reddit over the years.
Update: Kickstarter has decided not to remove the project.
Are you a foreveralone munching on Cheetos in your mom’s basement, wondering how to get women to touch your penis? Good news: Ken Hoinsky, whom you might know as “TofuTofu” on Reddit, has drawn up a comprehensive dating guide to help teach guys everywhere how to “get awesome with women”–and also make creepy unwanted advances on them.
A post on the blog Arabcrunch.com went viral this morning, hitting the front pages of both Reddit and Hacker News. The post stated that Facebook had begun blocking logins from users attempting to access it from the anonymized browser TOR. For activists and political dissidents who use the Internet to communicate with the outside world in countries where doing so is a crime, being unable to login to Facebook using TOR posed a huge problem.
Ready for their close up This week was the week NYC techies flocked to the TV circuit for their 15 minutes. Betaworks CEO John Borthwick took to CNBC’s Power Lunch for a segment about the hugely popular iPhone game Dots, an app built within the tech non-incubator by designer Patrick Moberg. Digg general manager Jake Levine Read More
“Talk about a waste.” That’s how former Palm CEO Jon Rubenstein described the purchase of the company from HP. As an aside, remember Palm? [Fierce Wireless]
Google is still the most popular search engine in the U.S., but Bing’s market share is rising. Microsoft’s site registered a 17.4 percent slice, compared to Yahoo’s 11.9 percent. [CNET]
Interns at Google are living the good life as they earn as much as $6,000 per month. That can buy them a lot of tickets for The Internship. [CNN Money]
Reddit is adding even more benefits for its Gold subscribers! The site is teaming with Uni Qlo to randomly select a member to receive a fancy gift from the Japanese clothing retailer. Hint, hint? [TechCrunch]
Get excited! Ashton Kutcher’s biopic Jobs is slated to be released August 16. [Entertainment Weekly]
At yesterday’s rally to support NSA leaker Edward Snowden, a software engineer who identified himself only as Michael huddled under Union Square subway entrance (just out of the pouring rain). “The fact that we have this man coming out now puts a face on this,” he said. “The human element is what’s most important, because most people think of these big surveillance things as these impassive, cold structures, but they’re the creation of humans, they’re the creation of people like me and you and all of us and there is a moral equation to all of that.”
He gestured to the northern edge of the park.
“Even in New York City, Union Square Ventures is right over there, which funded Tumblr, which is now owned by Yahoo, which is one of the companies that reported back to PRISM.”
But not everyone’s so sure of their feelings about Mr. Snowden. The occasional 1984 quote from Fred Wilson notwithstanding, the industry’s position in this whole mess is awfully conflicted.
Hey, ladies! Had you considered dashing out to the Starbucks on the corner, or perhaps making a quick trip to the gym? Well, here comes a bit of news that’ll make you want to lock yourself in your apartment until Judgement Day. Just don’t sign on to the Internet, because you aren’t safe there, either.
Months after the frenzy over Reddit’s r/creepshots, Jezebel has uncovered creepshots.tumblr.com, which has been around since April 2011. The site’s about page explains: “”What is a ‘CreepShot’ you ask? Easy. Creepshots are CANDID pictures. If a person is posing or aware that a picture is being taken, then it is no longer a creepshot.” (Also: “Major fan of Howard Stern and the Crew,” which pretty much figures.)


text: New York—Billboard is set to launch Billboard Russia. The monthly publication, which goes on sale April 20, is being published through a licensing agreement with C-Media Publishing House. It will have an initial circulation of 25,000. The introduction of Billboard Russia follows the launch of Billboard Turkey (26,000 circ.) in November. Billboard, which is published by Nielsen Business Media, said it will continue to expand internationally with print, mobile and Web offerings in Europe, Asia and South America.


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News Desk: Connectivity is the lifeblood of a nation’s continued and sustainable development. A mega bridge unlocks economic opportunities by uniting distant shores, intensifying trade, and shortening travel distances.
Padma Bridge, the dream once considered impossible, is not just a bridge to cross the mighty river, but an icon of Bangladesh’s determination, courage and bravery, steeled by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Defying all odds and conspiracy, the bridge is now a reality. Today it opens for traffic, ushering in a plethora of economic opportunities never thought possible.
Let us take a look at how the marvelous mega infrastructure built at a cost of Tk 30,000 crore is expected to change the economic landscape of Bangladesh, as well as improve the socio-economic status of people from all walks of society.
Commerce, trade to taste immediate benefits
The benefits of Padma Bridge, regardless of figures, will contribute a lot to the nation’s economy, and bring changes to the lives of millions of people living in the country’s south and south-western regions.
Immediate impacts of the bridge will include a rise in trade volume and vehicle traffic, as the easier connectivity will reduce transportation costs and time, making businesses more cost effective.
Speaking to The Business Post, former lead economist at the World Bank Dhaka Office, Zahid Hussain said, “The opening of this bridge will reduce the transportation time of a truck plying this route by 10 hours.
“It will bring benefits in two ways by cutting costs and saving time. Producers of goods will no longer have to depend on local markets. Instead, they can reach the capital and other parts of the country in a shorter amount of time.”
He continued, “Farmers who produce vegetables and fish will benefit the most as they will be able to deliver products much faster. Manufacturers located in Dhaka and Narayanganj will be able to grab the markets of south and southeastern regions very easily due to the connectivity.
“Thus, the two-way trade will increase the business volume and value, which will eventually contribute to the country’s GDP growth.”
Existing production capacity will be used to grab more markets as the connectivity will cut time and costs, and we can expect an additional 1.2 per cent to 1.7 per cent GDP growth because of the Padma Bridge.
A boon to agro sector
The Padma Bridge is offering a great potential for farmers by making communication much easier in the country’s south-western regions especially in Barishal, Khulna, Satkhira and Bagerhat and Jashore.
This bridge is shortening travel distances, time, and making transportation hassle free.
Md Farid, a vegetable trader of Bagerhat’s Fakirhat area, said, “I usually wait at least five to six hours at the ferry Ghat to reach Dhaka by crossing the river, and sometimes count losses as vegetables rot due to delays at the ghat.
“I will now be able to reach Dhaka within four hours. The Padma Bridge will help me earn a lot more, and do business more easily.”
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Khulna, everyday around 600 tonnes of agricultural products are sent to the capital from Khulna, Satkhira and Bagerhat.
Not only that, the farmers and fishermen of the region will also get fair prices as they will be able to connect directly with the dealers.
Jakir Hossain, a shrimp farmer in Bagerhat, said, “I sell shrimps at lower prices to dealers in fear that any delay would cause the food item to rot. Sometimes, I even offer discounts due to a lack of buyers.
“But the Padma Bridge has opened a new opportunity for businessmen such as me, as we can now send shrimps to Dhaka directly. We now have options to get a better price, and bypass the syndicate.”
ACI Agribusinesses President FH Ansarey said, “Farmers used to have no choice but to dump their unsold products. Traders took this opportunity to buy the products from farmers at lower prices, and then sell those at higher rates in other parts of the country including Dhaka.
“Farmers did not send their products themselves as it involved risks. If a ferry got delayed for one day, all their vegetables would become spoiled, and the fare would be wasted. But now, they do not have to take that risk because of the Padma Bridge.”
This major improvement in communication will boost the bargaining strength of farmers in local markets, and they will also be able to take their products to Dhaka themselves to sell at higher prices.
Agricultural sector generates 42% of the country’s employment and contributes 12.07% GDP. Of which 5.7% came from crops and horticulture and 2.64% from fishing.
New era awaits tourism sector
The country’s tourism sector will have a big boost immediately after the opening of Padma Bridge, as it offers visitors heading towards any of the south-western districts a significant drop in travel time.
“Tourists using the ferry system used to suffer a lot due to the time-consuming process of crossing a river, which was necessary to visit Bagerhat, Kuakata and the Sundarbans. It takes at least four hours to cross the river, and it discourages potential tourists,” said Zahid Hussain.
As the bridge shortens the travel time, people will visit those regions more, while the people living in the southern part will travel to Cox’s Bazar, Rangamati and hill tract regions.
The Padma Bridge and its adjacent areas will turn into a tourism hub, boosting the country’s economy. Project Hilsa, a restaurant, built nearing Padma River in 2021 has already gained much popularity among travellers and tourists.
People have begun relocating their tourism businesses there to survive.
Mobarak Hossain, the owner of Padma Sweetmeat at Kathalbari Ghat in Zajira, said, “We had been doing business for around 20 years. I have decided to relocate my business along with a resort near the highway, as my customers will use the Padma Bridge from now on.
“Thousands of people are already visiting the area to take a look at the much-cherished bridge.”
Generation of investment, employment
With the opening of Padma Bridge for traffic, southern districts await a big jump in investments, spearheaded by the expansion of both production and exports. Besides, the region is now an attractive place for setting up new factories.
Barishal Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Saidur Rahman Rintu believes the southern division can be a hub of garment factories once the bridge is opened.
He continued, “Some export-oriented garment factory owners, who are from Barishal and have factories in Dhaka or Chattogram, have already purchased land along the Barishal-Payra Port highway in Shikarpur, Doarika, and areas near Bakerganj.
“This is because most garment workers in Dhaka and Chattogram are migrants from the southern districts. They will come back home, and there will be no shortages of skilled workers.”
Factory owners would not need to use other ports to export RMG items once the Payra port becomes fully operational, he said.
Mentioning that at least two lakh new jobs would be created in Barishal if the government provides necessary support, the business leader said, “Tourism in Kuakata and agricultural farms in the districts would be other potential sectors witnessing a boost.”
Former advisor to caretaker government Mirza Azizul Islam said, “Because of the connectivity created by this bridge which also offers low cost and easy transportation investors will consider this region for investment.
“The land prices here are comparatively low and available as well.”
He added, “Investors will choose this region for relocating their factories, because the lead time will come down by at least ten hours. So, why would the people continue to buy land at a higher cost in Dhaka or its adjacent areas to build their factories?”
Meanwhile, Zahid Hussain said, “We cannot predict how much investment will be there or when it will come, but I am quite certain that the investment will be there and will continue to come.”
“The Padma Bridge will curb the infrastructure deficit, but is it smart enough to trigger more investments? For long term benefits and to attract more investments, we have to remove other regulatory and infrastructural barriers.”
The Padma Bridge will boost the south-western region’s investment to GDP by at least 35 per cent, as well as generate additional employment opportunities for 7.43 lakh people, which equals to 1.2 per cent total labor force, revealed an Asian Development Bank report.
Reduced lead time to boost exports
The country’s exporters would get a relief from the curse of longer lead times as the Padma Bridge will reduce this time by integrating sea and land ports.
Though there are three sea ports in Bangladesh, 90 per cent of Bangladesh’s export-import trade is handled through the Chattogram port, while Mongla Port uses only half its capacity.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Associations (BKMEA) Executive President Mohammad Hatem said, “The Chattogram port regularly witnesses container congestion as it handles the majority of Bangladesh’s foreign trade.
“Besides, the distance between Dhaka and Chattogram is 70 kilometres more compared to that of the capital and Mongla. Now that we have the Padma Bridge, we will be able to avoid container congestion and reduce the overall lead time by using the south-western ports.”
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Vice President Shahidullah Azim said, “Along with the reduction in travel distance, integration among the land and sea ports will have another positive impact on the import-export sector.”
“Most of the foreign trade in the northern region is also done via the Chattogram port. When apparel manufacturers start trading through the Mongla port, the northern region’s exports and imports will also begin utilising this port more.”
He also said many new factories would be built in the southern region once trade via the Mongla port gains momentum.
Transport sector’s economic contribution to rise
The Padma Bridge will significantly boost transportation business, which in turn would increase the contribution of this sector to Bangladesh’s GDP. The transportation sector contributed 7.4 per cent to the GDP in FY21, 6.56 per cent of which came from the land transport sector.
According to a study conducted by the AECOM New Zealand, the total road user benefit is estimated at $18.51 billion over the 31-year period.
Meanwhile, vehicular movement will see a sharp rise and attract more investments, as the improved connectivity will make communication more comfortable.
According to an ADB study, 24,000 vehicles will ply the Padma Bridge every day on average in 2024, which would increase to 67,000 daily by 2050.
Bus companies operating on the country’s southern and southwest-bound routes have started revamping their fleets by investing about Tk 300 crore altogether to increase the number of vehicles and trips ahead of the inauguration of the Padma Bridge, industry insiders say.
Mawa Paribahan Private Limited owner Ali Akbar Howlader told The Business Post that the existing bus companies are adding luxurious and better-looking vehicles to attract more passengers. Some local bus operators on both sides of Padma River are trying to convert to direct or long-distance services.
CMSME sector will celebrate
The Padma Bridge will have a cascading positive effect on the country’s Cottage, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (CMSME), as the establishment of large industries is bound to create more opportunities for them.
Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) President Rizwan Rahman said, “Many SME and heavy industries will begin operation utilising the low costs of production and demographic dividend in the region, which will ensure diversification of industries.
“New SMEs and a significant number of industrial plants will also utilise the EZs in that region. More employment opportunities will be created for skilled and semi-skilled workers. Besides, large industries will source from the local SMEs, allowing integration in the production chain.
Regional connectivity to go up
Due to Bangladesh’s strategic location, the Padma Bridge promises to contribute to a multi-modal international transport network for the South Asian nations, through strong links along the Asian Highway.
It will offer a wide range of potentials for national and regional economic growth through promotion of international transports.
Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming said, “I believe that after the bridge is opened to the traffic, it will benefit the people of Bangladesh, contribute to the connectivity of South Asia, and serve as an everlasting bond of brotherhood between China and Bangladesh.
“Moreover, it serves as the missing link of the Trans Asian Railway and Asian Highway Network, and will become an integral part of BCIM. With the bridge in use, a more integrated Bangladesh will surely contribute to a more integrated and prosperous South Asia and beyond.”
Transit land routes for India to its eastern states of Tripura, Manipur, and Mizoram will become more efficient options with the operation of the Padma Bridge.
“Significant impacts are expected on international trade between neighboring countries such as India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar,” said Zahid Hussain.
The bridge has created more potential and we have to cash it by modernising customs, harmonising tax systems and other related issues. If it is done, Bangladesh will enjoy multipronged benefits in trade and connectivity.


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A wave of anxiety and volatility has hit the stock market this week amid uncertainty related to the omicron COVID-19 variant, the economic recovery, and the possibility that the Federal Reserve will start boosting benchmark interest rates in an effort to combat inflation. Growth-focused investors typically get hit hard in sell-offs, as speculative stocks lead the declines. That pattern held this week as many businesses in and related to the electric vehicle (EV) industry took outsized declines. Among them were solid-state battery company QuantumScape (QS 3.20%), EV charging network operator EVgo (EVGO 3.23%), and start-up EV maker Arrival (ARVL). As of midday Friday, these stocks had declined as follows from last week's closing prices:
- QuantumScape was down 18.8%;
- EVgo was down 18.3%;
- Arrival was down 19%.
Demand for electric vehicles is still expected to soar in the coming years and decades, but these stocks are valued speculatively, based on expected future business results. And for now, the prospect of persistent inflation creates more uncertainty for this type of stock, as it requires investors to revalue those hoped-for future profits. But the prospects for these businesses still should be evaluated individually.
Of these three companies, QuantumScape is the furthest from commercializing a product. In fact, it might find that its next-generation solid-state battery technology fails on the level required for powering electric vehicles. The company doesn't expect to have a product commercially available until 2024, but it has recently reported that progress on battery development is ahead of schedule.
In July, QuantumScape said it had successfully produced, and was testing, its first 10-layer battery cells. This is the level needed to produce a commercially viable product. The company then announced in November that cycle and temperature tests had achieved the goals management had set for 2021. According to the company, its next steps will include "further increasing the quality, consistency and layer counts for the cells, delivering customer prototypes and continuing to build out its QS-0 pre-pilot production line."
EVgo similarly has been making progress on its growth plans. It recently announced that it had expanded its partnership with General Motors. Through 2025, the two companies now plan to deploy 3,250 charging stalls with EVgo's fast charging technology. That's up from their previous target of 2,750, and they have expanded the number of metropolitan areas to be included.
But Arrival's story hasn't been as positive. In its third-quarter financial update, management told investors it was revising its planned production schedule due to issues with accessing capital. The company warned that "previous long-term forecasts from the [SPAC] merger should no longer be relied upon." Soon after that, Arrival announced it would be raising additional capital through a pair of debt and stock offerings.
High volatility should be expected from early-stage growth companies, and that's particularly the case in a sector like the electric vehicle space. This week's market jitters hit these stocks especially hard, but investors should do their best to look past the short-term market noise and continue to focus on the underlying businesses.


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Two critical Android vulnerabilities had been recently disclosed and patched on Google Nexus devices via an over-the-air security update. The first, a bug that Google Project Zero Researcher, Mark Brand, discovered, allows an attacker to remotely execute malware.
This includes escalating local privileges on exposed smartphones. Despite its 'straightforward' nature, the bug is 'extremely serious' and can be spread in a variety of ways, Brand wrote in a blogpost.
"It's interesting that it's been undiscovered for so long," he said.
Brand's exploit works only on an undisclosed subset of Google Nexus handsets and could not "be used in real-world attacks without substantial modification and even further research," Google told Ars Technica.
Still, Brand suggested it is present in a number of recent releases. "The provided exploit performs this on several recent Android versions for the Google Nexus 5x and is both reliable and fast in my testing," he said.
According to September's Android security bulletin, Google has not yet received any reports of active customer exploitation or abuse of these newly reported issues. Still, the company encourages all customers to update their devices when they can.
The same update patches a second vulnerability similar to Stagefright. As reported on Ars, the bug is exploited by hiding malicious code in embedded JPEG image data, then sending the picture via Gmail or Google Talk. The unsuspecting target doesn't need to click on or open any links to become compromised.
These vulnerabilities have been made public around the same time that security firm Checkpoint disclosed two sets of malware planted in Google Play apps. Unveiled in late August, DressCode allegedly used to spoof ad clicks and generate revenue for the attacker, but can also be applied to breach private internal networks. CallJam, meanwhile, is concealed inside the game Gems Chest for Clash Royale, and includes a premium dialer to generate fraudulent phone calls—but only after receiving permission from the device owner.
Google did not immediately respond to PCMag's request for comment.


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“The one time you would want a mask is if you’re sick and you have to leave the house,” Dr. Perencevich, a professor of medicine and epidemiology said.
In a bid to keep oneself safe during the coronavirus outbreak, several people step out of their homes donning face masks in hopes that it will prevent them from contracting the deadly infection that has claimed the lives of thousands worldwide. Now, there is a global shortage of masks because people are panicking and stocking up. However, do you think stocking up is the answer? Well, it isn't. According to Forbes, even if there are COVID-19 cases in your community, or if there are cases right next door, you do not need to wear a mask.
A second person has died of coronavirus in Washington state, and five more people have tested positive for the virus, health officials said on Sunday.— CNN (@CNN) March 2, 2020
Four of the new cases, including the second death, are among residents of a long-term nursing facility. https://t.co/x3AWalGd93
Not only do you not need them you shouldn’t wear them, according to infection prevention specialist Eli Perencevich, MD, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Iowa’s College of Medicine. “The average healthy person does not need to have a mask, and they shouldn’t be wearing masks,” Dr. Perencevich said. “There’s no evidence that wearing masks on healthy people will protect them. They wear them incorrectly, and they can increase the risk of infection because they’re touching their face more often.” This means that you don't need any of those surgical masks, “N95 masks,” respirator masks, or anything else to protect yourself from the virus.
Please do not panic when you heard of the recent corona virus in Indonesia! Do not hoard supplies recklessly. Drink warm water, wash your hand before eating / touching your face and before/after wearing mask. Take vitamin C and disinfect your phone daily. Cough into ur elbow.— EN | Fire Emblem 👍 (@enmoire) March 2, 2020
You only have to wear a mask if you're feeling sick. Most people that buy masks are not getting one that stops the virus from reaching their mouth or nose. The coronavirus is transmitted through droplets and not through the air. This means you cannot randomly breathe the virus in and infect yourself. It also means the standard surgical mask you see people wearing will not help. That's because these masks are designed to keep droplets in, and not the other way round. They are designed to help the wearer who is sick to not infect others. “The one time you would want a mask is if you’re sick and you have to leave the house,” Dr. Perencevich said.
This will prob help a lot more than wearing a mask for corona virus https://t.co/Od0SWE18nj— Jesse MENTAL 🧘🏻♂ (@zookmann) March 1, 2020
“If you have the flu or think you have COVID, that’s when you’d put on a mask to protect others. In your house, if you feel like you’re sick, you should wear a mask to protect your family members.” However, if you are taking care of someone infected with coronavirus, it is advised you wear a mask in close proximity to that person while ensuring that they are wearing a mask, too. Meanwhile, it is best to make sure you consult a health official so they guide you on how to wear a mask correctly. Since there's a shortage of masks, you can head over to an emergency department or the clinic/hospital that diagnosed you and they will help you out.
Using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer should be able to disinfect your hands from the coronavirus. Masks will not protect you from getting sick but if you are sick then wearing a mask will protect other people from your droplets. So will sneezing into your elbow not your hands.— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) February 26, 2020
The type of mask to protect a wearer from viruses and bacteria is called a respirator. People who wear respirators would have received proper training on how to make it airtight seal. But even then, “no matter how well a respirator seals to the face and how efficient the filter media is, wearers should expect a small amount of leakage inside any respirators,” 3M notes. “No respirator will eliminate exposures entirely.” If you don't use a mask correctly or dispose of them incorrectly, that can also increase infection risk because it is literally trapping all the stuff in the air you’re trying to avoid, and many people end up touching their faces absent-mindedly.
Frequent hand-washing, not wearing a face mask, is the most important step the public can take to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the WHO says. https://t.co/HEjFuH1RrG— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 29, 2020
“Wearing a mask is tricky because it can create a false sense of security,” Dr. Perencevich said. “If you don’t wash your hands before you take off the mask and after you take off your mask, you could increase your risk.” Even if you use the mask correctly, when you buy them, it will create a shortage for the people who might actually need it more. “The most concerning thing is if our healthcare workers are sick and have to stay home, then we lose the doctors and nurses we need to get through this outbreak,” said Dr. Perencevich, who recently tweeted concerns about the “potential crisis” of N95 respirator scarcity.
#Sagarmediainc— Naresh Kumar Sagar (@Nksagar) March 1, 2020
Take care Coronavirus Infection?
People wearing face masks touching their face, not using sanitizer stations before eating in public
Wash your hands
Don’t touch your face
Wipe down your cell phone.
All of these practices are higher priority than a mask pic.twitter.com/IxNI4qk4YH


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In addition to two extensive refurbishments in London this Winter, Grosvenor Casinos has announced a national Christmas and New Year campaign entitled Lead The Pack.
As part of its national Christmas and New Year’s campaign, Grosvenor Casinos has launched an virtual reality experience for consumers that kicked off at Exchange Square’s Nordic-inspired forest in London.
The casino chain created a sensory pod whereby consumers can view the stunning Northern Lights and engage with the cast of animal characters from its seasonal campaign.
Popping up for two days in London, the experience then moves to Manchester’s Piccadilly Gardens for Thursday, 30 November and Friday, 1 December.
As part of the journey, Grosvenor Casinos’ brand ambassadors invite consumers to come into the completely darkened space where they are instructed to put on the VR goggles and headphones.
They are then transported to a winter scene with heavy snow falling. In a 4-D sensory experience, cold wind and the smell of the alpine immerse the consumers, making them feel they are really in the north. Then, the Northern Lights come alive in the sky above them.
As the VR ends, guests remove their goggles to see that the animals are now in front of them in person, and the pod has been transformed into a Grosvenor Casino.
The ‘Lead The Pack’ animals engage with the guests based on their specific characters, for example Ragna, the reindeer, is all about Roulette and invites the public to join in for a spin on the Roulette wheel.
“Following on from our successful ‘Call Of The Wild’ stunt at London’s Waterloo train station last December, we are excited to take our brand amplification to the next level in terms of an innovative and exciting customer journey,“ says Amy Culora, head of London and investments marketing.
“We are looking forward to surprising and delighting consumers with #leadthepack and showing them what Grosvenor Casinos is all about.”
Kicking off the London stunt, reality TV star, Jamie Laing from Made in Chelsea, surprised guests when he revealed he is under Ragna, the reindeer’s costume head.


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Ripple announces $250 mn Creator Fund to support NFT projects
Ripple, a San Francisco-based provider of enterprise blockchain and crypto solutions recently launched a $250 million fund to provide creators with the financial, creative and technical support needed to explore and craft premium non-fungible token (NFT) on the XRP ledger, according to media reports.
The new Creator Fund will work with Mintable and other partners, including creative design agency VSA and NFT marketplace mintNFT and it is expected to help businesses and developers build compelling propositions and enable long-term use of tokenisation.
Monica Long, GM of RippleX at Ripple told the media, “While NFTs have opened the door for a tokenised future, actually navigating these concepts is a different ball game for many. By starting with marketplaces and creators, our fund seeks to take the guesswork out of NFT projects to unlock unexplored tokenization use cases on the XRP Ledger.”
The new fund also aims to support creators who face resistance while entering the market including the fear their NFTs won’t sell or those who don’t have a clear idea when it comes to navigating NFT concepts. Ripple aims to provide creative and technical support to a diverse array of marketplaces, creators, artists and brands. This, in turn, will enable longtail use cases for tokenisation.
Ripple is teaming up with innovative NFT marketplaces and creative agencies that recognise the potential of these assets. With the help of Ripple’s creator’s fund, partners are accelerating the evolution of NFTs while eliminating the pain points associated with the projects.


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As Britain stews over Brexit, America plans to brew over it. Boston Beer Company, which makes Sam Adams, may have a Brexit beverage in the works, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The company submitted a trademark application for "BREXIT," and according to filings it will be a hard cider concept. (Seeing as how Sam Adams is named after a founding father, it seems strangely fitting that the beer company would attempt to profit off Great Britain's political misfortune.)
Politically-inclined beers are fairly common, though they more often focus on specific politicians or candidates rather than upheavals of potentially untoward magnitude. Here, a timeline of recent political beers:
2004: Oregon’s Portland Brewing Co. launches Governator Ale to commemorate Arnold Schwarzenegger being elected Governor of California
2011: Under President Barack Obama, the White House brews its very first beer, White House Honey Ale
2015: Iowa’s Exile Brewing Co. launches Chill Clinton; inspired by former President Bill Clinton, it’s infused with hemp seeds and reportedly gets the thumbs up from Hillary
March 2016: Zero Gravity Brewing in Vermont releases the Bernie Sanders-inspired Bernie Weisse; part of the proceeds go to a nonprofit that encourages young people to vote
April 2016: North Carolina brewers strike back against the state’s new ‘pro-discrimination’ bill by launching a beer called Don’t Be Mean to People; 100 percent of the profits go to local organizations serving the LGBTQ community
May 2016: Budweiser goes hyper-patriotic and launches a new can design for summer, rebranding itself simply ‘America’
June 2016: Chicago’s aptly named Spiteful Brewing thumbs their nose at Donald Trump with a beer called Dumb Donald; the label depicts the candidate as a Neanderthal
UPDATE 6/29 3:45 p.m.: Reached for comment, a spokesperson for Boston Beer Company says, "We have a long history of working alongside cidermakers from Britain and source some of our apples from the UK. We are not sure exactly how we would use the name yet, but it would likely be for a small batch of cider out of our Angry Orchard research and development orchard in Walden, NY."


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The late dispatch of new 5G telephones made Apple Inc’s AAPL.O clients put off purchasing new gadgets, driving the organization on Thursday to report the steepest quarterly drop in iPhone deals in two years.
Apple fell over 5% at one point in twilight exchange, cleaning $100 billion from its securities exchange esteem.
Since 2013, Apple has conveyed new iPhones every September as expected. In any case, pandemic-actuated deferrals pushed the declaration back a month, with certain gadgets still yet to transport.
Indeed, even as thriving deals of Macs and AirPods helped in general income and benefit above what investigators had expected, iPhone deals dropped 20.7% to $26.4 billion. (Realistic: tmsnrt.rs/3ecmgCG)
Financial specialists foreseen lower deals from the Cupertino, California organization’s top rated item, however the keep down was more regrettable than anticipated, particularly in China, where a bigger number of purchasers approach 5G than in the United States or Europe.
Apple has generally beaten deals desires this year and delivered a huge number of new items and administrations that its clients have grasped while to a great extent homebound during the pandemic.
Apple said income and benefits for the financial final quarter finished on Sept. 26 was $64.7 billion and 73 pennies for each offer, contrasted and examiner assessments of $63.7 billion and 70 pennies for every offer, as indicated by IBES information from Refinitiv.
Yet, the lead iPhone 12’s declaration was deferred until Oct. 13, a little while later than expected, which means no opening-end of the week iPhone deals are remembered for the final quarter results.
In a meeting with Reuters, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said that he was “hopeful” about the iPhone 12 cycle dependent on the initial five days of delivery information.
“5G is a once-in 10 years sort of chance. Also, we were unable to be more eager to hit the market precisely when we cooked,” said. “In any event in the U.S., the transporters are by and large exceptionally forceful.”
The iPhone 12 delivery timing drove down deals in Greater China by 28.5% to $7.95 billion. Cook said he anticipates that the new 5G gadgets should help iPhone deals recoup in China.
“What we’re finding in the early going in the initial five days gives us a great deal of certainty that China will re-visitation of development in our monetary Q1,” Cook told Reuters.
Apple didn’t give an income development estimate, yet Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri said income from administrations and non-iPhone items would develop by twofold digit rates in the monetary first quarter, in accordance with expert desires. He said iPhone income would likewise develop, suggesting the rate would be in the single digits. Investigators anticipate that iPhone income should rise 6.45% to $59.56 billion in the principal quarter, as indicated by Refinitiv information.
Logan Purk, an expert with Edward Jones, said that “while iPhone deals will develop this cycle, it will be baffling contrasted with raised desires, as we don’t accept the 5G presents a convincing purpose behind a flood of overhauls.”
Apple has balanced unpredictable iPhone deals lately with consistent development in its administrations fragment, which incorporates streaming music and TV. Administrations income rose 16.3% to $14.5 billion, contrasted and examiner appraisals of $14 billion. Cook disclosed to Reuters that Apple One, a heap of Apple’s paid administrations, will dispatch on Friday.
Cook revealed to Reuters that Apple has 585 million paying supporters over its foundation, up from 550 million the past quarter and closer to the objective of 600 million endorsers that the organization set out for the finish of schedule 2020.
Apple’s offers have taken off in the previous two years as it has expanded its income streams to reduce its reliance on the iPhone. The offer tumble on Thursday brings up the issue of whether Apple is even more subject to iPhone deals than certain speculators had trusted.
“Apple should have the option to keep the redesign cycle going or the offer cost will wobble on the grounds that there’s no genuine space for pardoning in the current valuation,” said Sophie Lund-Yates, a value investigator at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Apple said income from its frill fragment was up 20.8% to $7.9 billion, contrasted and investigator assessments of a 13.5% ascent to $7.4 billion, as indicated by Refinitiv information. Macintosh and iPad deals rose to $9.0 billion and $6.8 billion, contrasted and gauges of $7.92 billion and $6.12 billion, as indicated by Refinitiv information.


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The list of companies claiming to "take a break" with Huawei continues to grow long as the Wi-Fi association has temporarily taken away the membership of the Chinese company.
China may not need Google, but Huawei does
After Huawei, the US considered adding 5 Chinese surveillance camera companies to the blacklist
Until now, the companies announced to stop cooperating with Huawei, after President Trump put Huawei into the black list of the Ministry of Trade, including Google, Qualcomm, Intel, Microsoft, … and the most serious is ARM. Most recently, the Wi-Fi Alliance (Wi-Fi Alliance) has also temporarily removed Huawei's membership, according to sources. Nikkei Asian Review.
This is the official announcement of the association:
"The Wi-Fi Association adheres to the US Department of Commerce decree without completely excluding Huawei from the association. The Wi-Fi Association temporarily limits Huawei Technologies' participation in our activities under this decree".
According to the Android Authority, the Wi-Fi association is an alliance of companies like Apple, Qualcomm, Boardcam, Intel, … to jointly develop new wireless networking technologies. Although losing a temporary membership does not mean that Huawei cannot create new Wi-Fi devices, but Huawei will no longer contribute to the future of Wi-Fi.
In other words, this doesn't affect Huawei in the short term, but in the long run will make Huawei lose its competition in the market.
Of course, Huawei and China can jointly establish their own Wi-Fi alliance or join other alliances not in the US; But being out of the world's largest Wi-Fi alliance today will make Huawei extremely difficult to compete.
Before being "bricked" by the Wi-Fi association, Huawei was also banned from the SD Association, some of its devices were also removed from the Android Enterprise Recommended program.


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Accounting changes to put pressure on Ardent Leisure, Greencross, UBS says
Here's another thing for small caps investors to worry about.
Accounting standards changes to be implemented in the 2019 financial year will have operating leases hit the balance sheets of Australian companies, increasing gearing and potentially putting strain on credit metrics.
UBS's small caps team ran the numbers on ASX-listed ex-100 retail stocks and the new rule's likely impact, and reckon clients should watch out for Ardent Leisure, Adairs, Greencross, The Reject Shop and Retail Food Group.
"We expect commentary on the impacts of the changes throughout FY18E, and potentially at the upcoming FY17E reporting season," UBS analysts told clients on Monday morning.
"From a credit metrics standpoint, we believe the Ex-100 Retail companies likely to be most impacted by IFRS 16 will be AAD (ND/EBITDA +0.9x), ADH (ND/EBITDA +0.5x), GXL (ND/EBITDA +0.8x), TRS (ND/EBITDA +1.4x) and potentially RFG (ND/EBITDA +0.8x)."
No doubt there will be some interesting discussions between companies, their lenders, big shareholders and investment bankers over the coming 12-months, ahead of the changes.
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It is October. And that means two things: football and Halloween. So why not take some Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheerleaders and stick them in a haunted house?
Apparently this an annual tradition. You can see the 2009 version here.
In their uniforms, of course.
As healthcare costs rise and patients demand better care, hospitals turn to new technologies
More "Digital Industry Insider" »
Brothers share what it was like quitting their corporate jobs to sell ties on the beach and cofound Vineyard Vines, a company worth nearly $1 billion
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Some of the most globally renowned betting groups are preparing for a round of multi-billion pound dealmaking in an effort to establish industry dominance.
One of the first deals is set to be a previously thwarted merger between an Isle-of-Man headquartered online group GVC Holdings and UK bookmaker Ladbrokes Coral. According to sources, the two groups have already agreed the shape of a new executive team and board, and are getting ready to make the next steps.
At the same time, other well-known companies including William Hill, Paddy Power Betfair, 888 Holdings and Jackpotjoy are making their own plans to out-strategise their betting rivals.
The majority of the new deals are expected to be carried out after the outcome of the UK regulatory review is published later this month, according to interviews with more than 15 senior industry executives who revealed the information to the Financial Times on condition of anonymity.
As yet, the unknown impact on income that any regulatory reform would have makes it impossible to assess the value of gambling companies, which is leading rivals to prepare plans that can be put into action after its release.
David Jennings, head of leisure research at Davy, the Irish wealth managers, said "After the review, it won't be the commencement of talks, it will be the continuation of them."
Gambling groups are beginning to realise that greater scale can help to stave off the competition from newer, online businesses and increased regulatory scrutiny. Newly enlarged companies would be able to operate several different brands, but save money overall by unifying these systems into a single platform and single marketing budget.
In 2015, Paddy Power and Betfair spearheaded this movement by combining to create the world's largest gambling company, with an estimated value of £7bn. The two brands are still integrating, however, which makes it unlikely that they'll be engaging in more high-value deals anytime soon.


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In what could be positive news for retailers in Australia, new research from Roy Morgan has shown that more Australians are feeling better about their financial situation.
The weekly Roy Morgan Confidence Survey included 1,001 respondents in a face-to-face interview with a mixture of men and women aged over 14, and was conducted during May 11 and 12.
Survey findings showed that 42 per cent of respondents felt as though their financial situation was going to improve in the future, and they were going to be ‘better off’ in the next 12 months. This is a six per cent increase from the last time this survey was conducted earlier this month (May 4).
Australians are also expecting ‘good times’ in the next year, with 32 per cent feeling more positive about the Australian economy. This is a six per cent increase from the last survey’s results, and contrasts with the 28 per cent who expect ‘bad times’ for the economy.
Overall consumer confidence rose to 119.3 points after experiencing an increase of 5.7 points. This is 3.6 points higher than it was during this time last year.
Roy Morgan executive chairman Gary Morgan stated that the increase in consumer confidence could be attributed to the rate cuts made by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) earlier this month.
The RBA found it prudent to slash the rate by 25 basis points, bringing it down to a new level of 2.75 per cent.
This rate cut has allowed many households to save money when making repayments towards their mortgages, while also saving for other general expenses.
This in turn will hopefully stimulate more households to spend more on retailing in Australia, especially with increased Australians feeling more comfortable about their personal financial situations.
However, to help encourage more confidence in the economy, Mr Morgan has stated that it would be wise for the RBA to continue to reduce the official cash rate due to the political uncertainty that is expected over the upcoming months.


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BMW’s futuristic and sexy i8 is a part-electric fuel-sipper that packs a big sting.
Posts Tagged: coty
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